


Absolute one way street, to a beautiful world

by Lullaby (IslandOfApples)



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Angst, I believe that's all for now, I hope I don't suck at writing too haha, I suck at tagging, Renko has psychic powers, Time Travel, also Ran is older than Yukari in this, because I support that theory, because gaps, i suck at summaries, inspired by Absolute One Way Street, mostly Diao ye Zong songs, probably, probably got them from Sumireko, she doesn't know though, there are references to other songs as well, they're everywhere, this is about Maribel becoming Yukari, who is probably one of her ancestor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 20:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10838370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IslandOfApples/pseuds/Lullaby
Summary: Maribel still remembers the day she first set foot in the wonderful world of Gensokyo. At the time, she was just a young girl; she wasn't even aware of her ability to see boundaries. Then she grew up, met Renko, joined the Secret Sealing Club. She took Renko with her on a trip to a magical world, Renko took her to a magical place. The shrine was just a... little too close to the barrier.Maribel... No, Yukari still remembers the day she was taken captive by this beautiful world.





	Absolute one way street, to a beautiful world

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there. This is IslandOfApples, or Lullaby, whichever you prefer.  
> I've had the idea of writing about the relation between Mary and Yukari long ago (not that long though), while watching the Absolute One Way Street PV.  
> At the time it was one of the only songs I knew by Diao ye Zong/RD Sounds, but I gradually discovered more songs about Yukari and/or Maribel.  
> So, there will probably be references here and there, not only to Diao ye Zong songs, but also other circles, like Butaotome (this one is a rather small reference, good luck finding it if you want to search for them).  
> Now, this is the prologue. It is very short, but regular chapters are also rather short.  
> By the way, this is originally written in French, my mother tongue. If you find the translation a bit... wonky, blame it on me; my English's not perfect. Feel free to correct me if you want to.  
> That is all I have to say for now. Hope you enjoy this take on Yukari's story!  
> Yours truly,  
> Lullaby.

Maribel Hearn’s childhood was pretty ordinary. She was a regular kid, just particularly hard-working, clever and responsible. But being a good little girl can be tiring and boring to some, and that might have been why she decided, one day, to stray from her path.

One day, seemingly like any other, as Maribel was walking back home from school, a small alleyway caught her eye. She was used to pass this way, so this alleyway wasn’t unknown to her. But for some reason, this day, it was different. It seemed to lead to a forest. Maribel blinked; she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was she hallucinating? Was it because of the heat? She tried everything: rubbing her eyes, pinching herself, shaking her head energetically: nothing worked. The path leading into the forest was still right before her eyes. She wasn’t dreaming, then? She walked forward, to see if it would disappear, but she could feel the dirt path under her shoes, and she could hear the rustling leaves of the numerous trees around her. She stopped, and turned around to go back, a little scared, but the city had disappeared. She was now alone, in the middle of nowhere. She worried about it a short while, then brushed these thoughts aside. Since she was curious and brave – or was it just recklessness? – she decided to keep on walking forward. She walked for what seemed like an hour, at first excited, then tired and uneasy. At last, as night finished covering the sky with its starry wings, uneasiness was replaced with dread. Maribel felt as if she would never see her family and friends; as if she would never get out of this forest. But she didn’t stop: after all, what good would that do her? And, having walked for fifteen minutes, she found herself in front of stone stairs, leading to a torii.  
She walks one step, towards the torii, and starts climbing the stairs.  
She continues, with two steps, and reaches the top.  
She treads three steps, carefully, apprehensively.  
She arrives, with four steps, right under the torii.  
Then past it.  
Maribel was in front of a small Shinto shrine. Nobody seemed to be around. She looked behind her, checking if anything had changed when she walked under the torii, but nothing seemed different. Maribel decided to go back on her tracks, and she walked for half an hour before sighting the end of the forest. She ran towards it, and when she finally reached the edge, she stopped to admire the view that spread before her eyes.  
Mountains, valleys, woods, plains, stretching as far as the eye could see. Here, a huge forest of bamboos, which size was so impressive, one would with no doubt lose themselves in it. There, a great mansion of deep scarlet, by a lake that was covered in mist. Maribel couldn’t see any cities as she knew them; there was only a small village, built in an old traditional style.  
She remained there, contemplating this fantastic landscape, carving each and every detail into her memory, from where she was standing. Her fascination was such that she didn’t hear footsteps approaching behind her.

“Hey, you there. What are you doing here?”


End file.
